Qualla: Newcastle West

Newcastle West: Introduction

Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Harold Strong, CC BY-SA 2.0. The crest of Newcastle West carries the image of a wild boar. The old name for the great bowl-shaped valley in which the town sits was the Valley of the Wild Boar, named for the animals that thrived here when the country was still thickly wooded. The trees are mostly gone now and so are the boars, but their image stayed - on the town crest, in the local memory, in the motto curled around the seal: As Duchas Dochas, 'Our hope springs from our traditions.' The town's other inheritance is the Desmond Banqueting Hall, the 13th-century survival at the south end of the main square, where the Earls of Desmond once entertained guests in stone vaulted halls that still stand. Today, 7,209 people live in Newcastle West, the county town of Limerick, in the largest town in the county outside Limerick city itself.

Read more: Newcastle West on Qualla

Image: Harold Strong | CC BY-SA 2.0

Newcastle West: Earls of Desmond

Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Elisa.rolle, CC BY-SA 4.0. The castle that gave the town its name began in the 13th century. Parts of the present Desmond Castle date from that period, but the great banqueting hall - which dominates the southern end of the main square and which has been partly restored and open to public tours - is largel...

Read more: Newcastle West on Qualla

Image: Elisa.rolle | CC BY-SA 4.0

Newcastle West: Bridge of Tears

Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Rauenstein, CC BY-SA 3.0. Two bridges in Newcastle West carry the weight of the 19th century. The iron footbridge over the river Arra, opposite the Catholic Church of the Immaculate Conception, was put up by Edward Curling, the landlord's agent in town from 1848 to 1874 - the agent through the worst of th...

Read more: Newcastle West on Qualla

Image: Rauenstein | CC BY-SA 3.0

Newcastle West: Two Turntables and a Trail

Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Emmett.Hume, CC BY-SA 3.0. The North Kerry railway line ran through Newcastle West from 1857 until 1975 - 118 years of trains connecting Limerick city to Tralee via Rathkeale and Listowel. The station had an unusual arrangement: two turntables and two water columns for steam locomotives, an inheritance of ...

Read more: Newcastle West on Qualla

Image: Emmett.Hume | CC BY-SA 3.0

Newcastle West: People Who Left, People Who Stayed

Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Speed Lancelot (1860-1931), Public domain. The town's emigrant story is partly told by the people whose names are still remembered. John Wolfe Ambrose, born locally, went on to become a civil engineer and one of the major developers of New York City - the Ambrose Channel is named after him. Mary, Lady Heath, born Sophie C...

Read more: Newcastle West on Qualla

Image: Speed Lancelot (1860-1931) | Public domain